Self-publishing novelist a force to be reckoned with

By Carol Kim PBN Staff Writer

The road to bestseller success is rarely easy, but self-publishing can give authors a new avenue for getting their stories to the masses. Portsmouth-based, self-publishing novelist Marie Force has authored several books that have hit the bestseller lists of The New York Times, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. More

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Self-publishing novelist a force to be reckoned with

WRITE TURN: Self-publisher Marie Force says she’s worked her process to the point where she can write a full-length book in about two months.

COURTESY MARIE FORCE

Posted:
Saturday, September 14, 2013 12:05 am

By Carol Kim PBN Staff Writer

The road to bestseller success is rarely easy, but self-publishing can give authors a new avenue for getting their stories to the masses. Portsmouth-based, self-publishing novelist Marie Force has authored several books that have hit the bestseller lists of The New York Times, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal.

«constant ****SDLq»Self-pubbing” requires as much business savvy, however, as it does writing ability. After nearly three years in self-publishing, Force conducted a survey of readers’ habits and preferences in June. Questions included favorite genres, attitudes toward e-books and paperbacks and opinions on author endorsements. Force observed, among other findings, that while e-books have surged in popularity, more than half of the survey respondents continue to seek books in paperback format. The survey results can be viewed at: ebookformattingfairies.blogspot.com.

PBN: How does your experience working with publishing companies compare to your experience self-publishing?

FORCE: In self-publishing, you have to do everything that you normally get from a publisher: hiring a cover designer, editors, proofreaders, formatters … but that also gives you all the control, too, which is something that is really great. That said, I’m also enjoying working with two traditional publishers. I have good rapport with Harlequin, the publisher of my “Fatal” series – which is a New York Times bestselling series – and my “Green Mountain” series, which is coming from Berkley, a division of Penguin Random House.

PBN: Are there certain works that are better suited for self-publishing?

FORCE: I would say that the romance business is very well-situated to take advantage of the self-publishing boom because the readers are voracious – they read sometimes 10 or 20 books a week. They’re incredibly supportive of their favorite authors in ways that I cannot even begin to articulate.

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